Sidewalks are meant for pedestrians, while bicycles and similar small vehicles should share the road with cars. Unfortunately, there are cyclists and people on motor scooters who blatantly ignore the rules and drive unsafely in spaces not intended for vehicles, like sidewalks.
Pedestrians who get struck by bicycles or motorized scooters can suffer severe injuries. What rights does a pedestrian have in a situation where someone hurts them but isn’t in a vehicle?
There may not be insurance to cover your costs
Whether you got struck by someone commuting on a bicycle or riding on a rental electric scooter, it’s possible that there is not an insurance policy that will protect you in that scenario. Cyclists don’t have to carry insurance, and neither do people who ride scooters, whether electric scooters ridden for fun or mobility scooters ridden for health reasons.
If there isn’t insurance, that means that your best option for compensation could very well be to bring a personal injury lawsuit against the person who caused the accident, the company that rented the scooter or the facility where you got hurt.
Different circumstances will lead to different kinds of claims
If someone riding a bicycle on a sidewalk where they clearly should not be strikes you and knocks you over, you may have the option of bringing a civil lawsuit directly against that cyclist. In some situations, such as where the person who hurts you flees the scene, you may have to seek alternate avenues for compensation.
A current lawsuit pending against Disney World, for example, relates to the lack of training requirements and safety protocols in place for visitors who use motor scooters. A college athlete who was struck by someone in a mobility scooter suffered a severe ankle injury that impacted his collegiate athletic career.
Instead of bringing a lawsuit against the individual driver on the scooter, he has filed a lawsuit against the amusement park where he got hurt because he alleges they do nothing to enforce safety rules or train the people riding scooters through the park, potentially endangering others.
Discussing the circumstances of your scooter or bike injury including where it happens and the impact of the injuries on your life will give you a better idea of what options you have for compensation.